The Development And Testing Of The Academic Information System Survey

The Academic Information System (AIS) is a database for academic administrators and educators in landscape architecture programs which are members of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), an international organization based in the United States. The system and its associated survey are designed to provide them with the ability to store and organize a variety of data on the way in which they prepare individuals to become landscape architects. The system also enables these educators to compare and contrast their institution with groups of other institutions. The goal of the system's creators is to establish the most complete database possible to help these educators accomplish their missions.
In order to develop this database a survey was written to collect information from all academic administrators of landscape architecture schools who are members of the CELA. This survey was developed over the course of 2006 and 2007 by a team organized by CELA. In 2007 the team incorporated this survey into CELA's website. During the winter of 2007-08 it was tested by several academic administrators from various universities throughout CELA's eight regions. Following editing and refinement it was available for all academic administrators of CELA schools on April 1, 2008. This paper examines if there is a need for a database system that academic administrators, educators and students can use. It examines those who are currently researching landscape architecture schools, how they obtain their data and what they do with it. The paper then questions why these current processes are insufficient. The paper then shows how a new system to research landscape architecture schools was developed by CELA. The paper continues with an analysis on how this system functioned with a test group. The paper concludes with ideas on how to proceed with utilizing this new system in the future.